


Mindless

by MsChievous



Series: Whump/Inktober 2019 [4]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: AU, Gen, MT Prompto Argentum, Not Canon Compliant, Poor Prompto Argentum, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-04
Updated: 2019-10-04
Packaged: 2020-12-01 20:55:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,514
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20896589
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MsChievous/pseuds/MsChievous
Summary: MT Unit 0593234 has orders to return to base. He must obey his orders, but then he comes across a a hurt creature and feels an intense desire to help it.Inktober Day 2 - Mindless





	Mindless

**Author's Note:**

> Originally, this was supposed to be, like, an MT Prompto just cares for a chocobo and doesn’t understand why/think about it, but then it became…. This…
> 
> Uh, enjoy?

MT units were not built to last. Unit 05953234 knew this from firsthand experience. He had been on two successful raids to clear out pockets of resistance on the Lucian countryside and had seen many of his fellow troop members fall in battle. As a sniper, he was lucky not to be in the thick of the battle.

But now…

His time had finally caught up with him. The third raid had been a trap. The place was rigged to explode the minute they were inside. He wasn’t sure how many of his fellow troop members were alive. He wasn’t sure  _ if _ they were alive. All he knew was that he was lucky to still be breathing, let alone moving. 

There was a lingering pain in his right arm, but he could still move it, so it wasn’t broken. Good. He had a chance at survival. He just needed to make it to the dropship point, just past the rebel hideout. 

He flicked his gaze around to get his bearings. A sheer cliff face jutted up in front of him, and gravelly dirt stretched in a wide swath behind him. There was no sign of any debris nearby, so it was likely on top of that cliff. He just needed to climb and meet up with any surviving members of his troop. Easy enough. 

The cliff face was craggy - with easy hand and footholds for him to dig the points of his armor into to leverage himself higher. He made it to the top easily- his training prepared him for tasks much more arduous than this- but all he saw when he got there was a smoking crater and scattered metal bits. 

A part of him felt...weird… at the realization that he was the only one left. It felt like he was missing a key component to his function. But he wasn’t. He didn’t like the feeling. 

The dropship point was a half-mile to the north, through the forest. He can get there in less than fifteen minutes if he ran at his maximum speed, and pick up wasn’t for another thirty - provided his internal time mechanisms aren’t malfunctioning.

The suit clanked with every step, echoing across the empty expanse of Lucis. He knew that his presence was less than welcome in this land and that a lone Trooper was a dead trooper, but if he could make it to the woods, he could hide. The likelihood of his survival would increase exponentially. 

So once he was surrounded by the woods, he let his pace drop off slightly. He would still make it to the pickup location with several minutes to spare, even if he walked from here on out.

As he walked, he made sure to stick to the shadows and recesses of the trees, stifling his presence as best he could. It was likely unnecessary, but he had lessons upon lessons beaten into his flesh that all rules were to be followed to their fullest extent.

Then, he heard it- a faint cry of sorts - inhuman but undoubtedly sad. The sound made him stop short, and that empty feeling he got from thinking of all his dead friends - it came back, and he wondered if whatever was making that sound had also lost its friends. Maybe… maybe he could help.

He followed the sound carefully. It didn’t sound human or even humanoid, so his cover likely wouldn’t be endangered. 

The noise lead him to a small alcove along a craggy cliffside, almost completely covered by underbrush. He carefully peeled it back, peering inside. 

A large yellow creature looked back at him, curled up on its side in a bed of grass. It let out another noise, softer, more pitiable, that made something in his stomach twist. He reached forward carefully, but the creature jerked away, revealing a line of crimson just under its wing. It let out a painful squawk. 

Unit 05953234 jerked back in turn. This creature was obviously injured, and night would fall soon. He couldn’t give any meaningful care before he needed to leave to be picked up, but maybe… if he stayed past the pickup time, he can help.

The thought confused him as he formed it. There was no purpose to caring for this creature, it would only slow him down, and yet… and yet he imagined how it would feel if he was in this creature’s place.

He lowered himself to the ground, close enough so he can stay hidden from the main road, but far enough away to keep the creature comfortable. The creature shifted slightly to keep an eye on him, but he remained still, not even daring to look back at it. 

Time passed. He heard the sound of the dropship idling nearby for the obligatory five minutes before it took off, but he didn’t dare move from his spot. The creature wasn’t looking at him now, it was sleeping, and he was afraid that if he moved, he would scare it.

So he stayed perfectly still, barely even daring to breathe, until the creature seemed to finally fall asleep, and then he let himself relax, if only incrementally. He heard the sound of the dropship hovering nearby. A not insignificant part of him wanted to jump up, run to the dropship and be brought back to where he was accepted, where he had a bed, and food, and people to care for him. But he glanced to the creature at his side and bit down on that urge. He was here, he could help something that needed it, and he would do whatever it took. 

The dropship idled for the obligatory ten minutes before deftly hovering away. Vaguely, he wondered if any other troopers made it to the pickup location. How many others survived the initial blast and then the trek back? Certainly, he couldn't be the only one... Maybe there were others in this very forest, hiding out. Then he quickly cast that thought to the side. Whatever the other troopers were doing didn't matter. What really mattered to him was the creature across the way for him, panting heavily in pain. He would protect this creature. Even if it meant he could never go back.

* * *

Eventually, Unit 05953234 fell asleep. When he woke up, the moon was high overhead, and the creature was trilling softly in pain. The sound made his heart twinge a bit, and he carefully scooted forward, testing the waters. The creature opened its eyes to look at him but made no move to shift away. 

That was either a really good sign or a really bad one, he wasn’t quite sure which. He scooted even closer, careful to keep an eye on the creature. Again, it didn’t move, so he inched closer and closer until he was practically on top of it. 

The creature looked at him, and its eyes sent something down his spine he didn’t quite have words for. It almost…  _ hurt _ to look at. 

He pressed his fingertips gently against the creature’s side. Its coat was so soft, softer than the blankets and beds he’d slept in back in Niflheim, and it was warm and living and so… so precious, for reasons he didn’t quite know. 

It chittered at him quietly but didn’t move away. So unit 05953234 let his hand drift down to the creature’s wing and lift it carefully. 

He had only gotten a glance at the wound before, but it was clear to see that it had gotten even worse. Boot camp came with first aid training, but he wasn’t sure how well his knowledge would transfer to helping this creature. But he had to try. The first step was cleaning out the wound, then he needed to dress it. Unfortunately, he did not have the necessary tools, but he was aware of the geographic makeup of the nearby area. There was a town to the south. No doubt they would have what he needed.

But that would mean he had to leave the creature alone. He bit his lip, deliberating. No, he had to tend to the creature’s wound or else he might as well not be there. First, though, he needed to make sure the creature had food and water. He had to hope that it was a vegetarian and could sustain itself with the roots around them, but water was more important. And unfortunately, he didn’t have a proper container for the water, unless…

He lifted his hands shakily to the clamps on the side of his helmet. Anxiety swirled in his gut, but he swallowed it back and unhooked the clamps. 

The cool night air stirred his helmet-matted hair back from the nape of his neck and his forehead. He breathed a sigh of relief only slightly choked by the concern that he would be seen out of uniform outside of the facility. Of course, it was a silly concern, but it was so deeply ingrained in him that he felt almost… naked... without it.

The creature peered at him, almost confused at this second face behind his mask, then closed its eyes with a soft trill.

Carefully, he rested a hand at the base of the creature’s neck, mimicking back its faint trill to the best of his ability. With his helmet in hand, he set off for the nearest body of water, a river about a fifteen-minute trek to the west. It was on the border of the forest so he’d have to be careful, but at this time of night, it was doubtful that anyone would be awake to see him.

When he arrived back at the creature’s alcove with his helmet full of water, he heard a faint shifting and a squawk.

Panic jolted him forward, and he threw himself forward. Had something happened while he was away? Was it hurt worse? Was it dying?

He burst through the underbrush, water sloshing over his hands and arms, to come face to face with… the creature, just as it had been before. It looked up at him with wild eyes and he saw something akin to  _ fear _ in them. When their eyes met, the creature got up and started to wobble closer.

Unit 05953234 rushed forward to meet it, petting its unwounded side and neck in an attempt to comfort it. If it moved too much, it could hurt itself worse, it could die, it-

The creature calmed down under his touch, resting its head against his shoulder and trilling softly, not in pain this time, but something else. 

He trilled back best he was able and set the helmet on the ground. The creature stayed on his shoulder so he gently moved its head to the water, urging it to drink. After a few long moments, it bent its head to drink. Unit 05953234 rested a hand on its head then started to take off his armor. For this part, he needed to be stealthy and full-body armor didn’t quite lend itself to that. 

The creature glanced back at him occasionally as he unhooked the various plates of metal but always turned back to its water. That made him feel good, that he had gotten the water. It was obviously thirsty. He had helped, at least a little bit, which meant his decision to stay was the right one.

When the last of the armor fell to the ground, he started to walk away, towards the closest town to get bandages. He didn’t get more than two steps before the creature squawked loudly, gripping his shirt sleeve in its beak and pulling back. With an ungraceful squawk of his own, Unit 05953234 fell back. 

He tried to yank his sleeve back, placing a calming hand on the creature’s neck, but it wouldn’t be soothed. It tugged him back, even as its wound reopened and started seeping down its side.

In a panic, he let himself be dragged back. This thing wouldn’t understand that he was going for help and it could hurt itself while he was gone. He would wait until it was asleep and then leave. He just had to hope it wouldn’t wake up while he was gone…

* * *

Whether it was due to its injury or being properly hydrated, the creature seemed to fall asleep barely half an hour later. Unit 05953234 waited a little bit longer, to make sure that it really was asleep before rising to his feet and stealthily walking away. Every step seemed to be too loud and he was sure that at any moment the creature would wake up and force him back with it while it died.

But no, he managed to make a quick getaway. Once he was several hundred meters away from their hiding spot, he broke into a dead sprint. He could sustain this pace for five minutes before he would have to slow down, but he approximated that by the time he reached his limit, he would already be halfway there.

A little over five minutes later, he slowed down to a steady jog. His lungs felt like they were on fire and his legs burned with the exertion, but every time he thought of the creature waking up without him and panicking, it forced him faster and faster. He was fairly certain he had broken his previous record for long-distance sprinting, though he couldn’t be wholly sure as his only measure was an estimation. But he reached the town earlier than he thought he would. Not that he was complaining. On the contrary, it was still dark, and the daemons still prowled, though they recognized him as one of their own and didn’t even spare him a second glance. That meant that there should be no one out and about in an isolated village such as this.

Unit 05953234 stuck to the shadows, looking for anything that looked like a general store. He didn’t have as much experience out of the facility as other troopers, and he couldn’t read Lucian at all, but he had to try. The creature was relying on him.

Finally, he struck what he thought was gold. A darkened storefront with knick-knacks lining the shelves. He peered in carefully and caught sight of long aisles. It was a store, at least, and it didn’t seem to have a particular theme. So he slipped off his overshirt, wrapped it around his fist, and slammed it into the glass door, right beside the lock.

It shattered easily, and he scrabbled around to unlatch the door. 

The store was dead silent, save for the sound of his footsteps echoing throughout the aisles. His heart pounded in his chest - he was sure that any moment he would get caught. He doubted it since he heard no alarms, but he did know there were silent alarms. He had to find what he needed and leave.

Thankfully, the first aisle he came down was the first aid aisle. He grabbed several boxes of gauze bandaging, and a large container of what smelled like and what he hoped was antiseptic. 

Heart pounding, knees shaking, Unit 05953234 slipped back into the night. With every step, he felt lighter and lighter. He could do it, he could help. 

The creature was still asleep when he got back, thankfully. He wouldn’t know what to do if it had gotten up and panicked without him. Glancing at the helmet, he saw that it was nearly empty. Might as well get new water to clean the wound while it was still asleep. 

Finally, when the bandages and antiseptic were safely stowed away and the water was shuffled within easy reach of the creature, he let himself rest.

* * *

The next morning, he awoke with a start. When he blinked back the sleep from his eyes, he met the gaze of the creature, who blinked slowly at him. Immediately, Unit 05953234 knew something was wrong. Its eyes were so glazed, and its breathing so labored, it must have been in serious pain.

He grabbed the helmet-bowl and nervously pet the creature’s side, praying to whatever gods looked after abominations like him that he could do something. With a deep breath to steel his nerves, he dipped the sleeve of his overshirt into the water, then pressed it over the creature’s wound.

It shuddered slightly but didn’t make a move to stop him. His eyes burned at the thought that he might be too late, but he didn’t dare stop. He had found this creature for a fucking  _ reason _ and it didn’t matter if the gods blessed him, he would make sure it survived. Over his dead body.

* * *

He wasn’t sure how long had passed since he finished tending to the creature’s wounds. The sun was almost at its highest point from what he could see through the thick brush, so at least a couple hours. He hadn’t paid much attention, instead watching the creature’s breathing. Did it seem more fluid than a few hours ago? Less labored? He wasn’t sure, but the thoughts nagged at him.

He kept close watch over the creature's breathing, wondering if he was exaggerating the issue or if it did seem to genuinely be doing better. Worrying his lip, he shifted his position, so he could run his fingers through its feathers. He really did have to come up with a name for it, just calling it a "creature" was doing it a disservice. it was so much more - alive, feeling, in pain. It deserved a proper name. Like he was Unit 05953234, separate and distinct from his fellow troopers. This thing would be... Unit 1. It wasn't a true designation, so he wouldn't be breaking any behavioral codes, but it was still something unique and special. 

Yes. Unit 1, a nice name. He hummed to himself as he pressed his hand into Unit 1's plush feathers. It was so soft and warm. He wondered if Unit 1 felt the same way about him. Did it think he was soft and warm? Maybe it appreciated his humming like he enjoyed its trilling, or maybe it didn't like it and yet was forced to stay with him because of its injury. The thought made Unit 05953234 feel a little sad, and more than a little hurt, that he could be doing something to bother this creature.

Furrowing his brows, he let his hand slip off Unit 1’s back. At first, the creature barely seemed to notice, but after a minute, it moved its head to look at him with a curious  _ mrrp? _ When he still didn’t resume petting it, Unit 1 nipped at his shirt sleeve, pulling his hand close to its bandaged side.

A warmth that didn’t come from Unit 1’s body heat spread through Unit 05953234’s chest. It felt like he imagined floating would feel, light and happy. It wanted him, just like he wanted it. 

* * *

Unit 05953234 wasn’t sure how much time had passed since he had first decided to take care of Unit 1. He had established a routine, at least. Once the sun went down, he would run down to the river to wash, refill their water, and hopefully spear a fish. If that failed, he would search in the usual spots for edible foods. His basic training had certainly paid off at this point. While he wouldn’t say he had an easy time, it was better than starving to death. And if all else failed, he usually had time to sneak back to the village and pick through their dumpsters to find good food.

Then, during the day, Unit 1 would get up. It’s gotten a lot better, though it still can’t move that wing. Occasionally, it would leave for a little while, and he didn’t know what it did. Part of him wanted to put on his light-proof armor and follow it, but he felt that would be rude. After all, it didn’t follow  _ him _ on his outings. And after all, those outings only lasted a half-hour at most. Likely, it was just stretching its legs. 

But one morning, it didn’t come back. It wouldn’t be that unusual, but it was late, and he just… he had a bad feeling. He knew there were other creatures,  _ meaner _ creatures nearby that could hurt Unit 1, and there were cliffs and rivers that it could fall down and if its wing was still hurt, then it might be in even worse condition than when he first found it.

Though his hands shook with the idea of putting his armor back on and worry churned his guts until he thought he was going to be sick, he forced himself into it and stepped into the sunlight. 

The thought occurred to him that he didn’t know where to start looking for Unit 1. Perhaps it had gone to get food other than the grass they slept on? If so, it would likely head towards the bulberry bush just over that ridge. 

He set off at a brisk pace toward the possible food source, assuring himself with every step that it was probably fine, that he was overreacting, and Unit 1 would probably come back while he was away and panic itself. 

But as he slowed his pace, he heard a sound that sent a thrill of fear down his spine - Unit 1’s pained shriek. 

Unit 05953234 put on a burst of speed, shoving past the brush until he could see what he had been afraid of: Unit 1 on the ground and several fierce tusked creatures surrounding it. He had encountered them before, but only at a distance where they used similar pack tactics to fight off an Arachne. 

Unit 1 was no Arachne, it was a weakened target - easy pickings for this pack.

With a burst of speed he didn’t know he possessed, he picked a stick up off the ground, rushed forward, and slammed it into the side of one of the creatures. It went flying with a high-pitched squeak, but it wasn’t out of the fight.

Belatedly, Unit 05953234 realized he could have stayed back and sniped them, though that came with the danger of potentially hurting Unit 1, and the creatures could have done some serious damage to Unit 1 before he got a shot off. No, this was… well, not better, but more likely to protect Unit 1.

He managed to hit another tusked creature away before a third slammed into him from the side, scraping its claws against his hard metal armor. He beat the thing away before scrambling back to his feet, but another beast jumped on top of him, this time managing to dig its claws into the crack of one of his joints, cutting a line across the back of his knee. 

Furiously, he cracked the stick down on the beast’s head, relishing the feeling of the thing’s skull fracturing before it dropped to the ground.

He turned on another, batting it to the side with a crackly scream of rage. He wouldn’t let these creatures hurt Unit 1, Unit 1 was too good to be hurt, it was too nice-

Another creature took advantage of his distraction and leaped on his back, snapping its jaws around his shoulder plate. Its teeth crushed the armor into his shoulder painfully, twisting the metal around unnaturally. With a grunt, Unit 05953234 dropped his weight to the ground, pinning the creature under the weight of his armor. Then he slammed the sharp edge of his elbow armor into the thing's underbelly. It squealed in pain, and another creature lunged at him.

Unit 05953234 barely had time to blink before his world was turned around and the creature barrelled him off its injured ally, snapping at his mask. 

Fear started to pound in Unit 05953234's throat. He was outnumbered, and these things were fierce fighters. He had hoped that dispatching one or two would make the rest reconsider Unit 1, but it just made him a target as well. He tried to push himself to his feet, to grab his rifle to do  _ some _ damage, but yet another creature pounced on him, knocking him down again, farther away from Unit 1. He managed to catch a glimpse of it, and it seemed that the creatures were no longer paying attention to it, they were all focused on him.

That was good, at least. Maybe Unit 1 could get away.

Pain lanced up his side and one of the creature's tusks found the seam of his chest armor and gouged a deep wound. His back armor flew off, skittering several feet behind him. At that point, he knew he was going to die. At the lab, they had told him that outside of the lightproof armor, MT troopers could last longer than daemons since they hadn’t fully transformed, but he only had a half an hour or so. And he wasn't going to last that long against these creatures.

He just hoped... he just hoped Unit 1 could get away so someone else could care for it. 

Finally, he managed to free his rifle from his back holster and slammed the butt end of it into one of the creature's heads with a satisfying  _ crack _ . Did its tusk just fall off? He was feeling lightheaded from the pain in his shoulder and side, but he thought it did. Serves them right, for trying to hurt Unit 1. What did it ever do to them?

Before he can make another move, a creature rams into him, knocking the breath from his lungs, and then it's open season. He found himself staring dazedly up at the sun as the creatures knocked into him wondering where MT troopers go when they die. Hopefully someplace nice.

His thoughts were interrupted by an angry squawk and he felt that thrill of fear again. Unit 1. Why was Unit 1 so close? 

There was a flash of yellow, and one of the creatures attempting to gnaw his helmet off went flying. No. No, no nonononono  _ no. _ Tears pricked the corners of his eyes. Why didn’t it run away? It was going to get itself killed, it was still hurt-

With a strength he didn’t know he had, he bashed a nearby creature off him and rolled to his feet, lunging on wobbly legs towards the closest creature to Unit 1. He fell on top of it, slapping Unit 1’s side to get it to leave, to get out of here. It was injured, but it could still live if it made it to the town he had stolen the supplies from. He wished suddenly that he had taken it there at the very beginning, then this whole problem wouldn’t be happening.

Unit 1 didn’t run away, though.

He managed to stagger up from the creature, towards Unit 1, waving his arms to just make it  _ leave.  _ It didn’t even blink at him, instead slamming one of its powerful legs into the tusked creature. 

Before he could do anything else, something sharp, painful, and cold slammed into his unarmored back, and he fell to the ground. His vision blurred worse and worse until he was floating in a grey haze. His final thought before he finally fell unconscious was  _ I’m so sorry, Unit 1 _ .

* * *

Noctis Lucis Caelum groaned and stretched as they shuffled out of the Regalia. Another day, another  _ fucking _ hunt to get money since Insomnian Crowns were worth jack shit now that the Capital had been destroyed. 

“So this is where Wiz said the chocobo was last spotted, yeah? And we got that hunt, uh, some voretooths- voreteeth? Voretooth? I don’t- hey, Iggy, what’s the plural form of a voretooth?”

“I haven’t the foggiest. But yes, this is the area Wiz said it should be. Hopefully, the voretooths haven’t gotten to it first,” the advisor said.

“Wait,” Gladio said, holding out a hand to keep them from moving closer. “You hear that?” The three of them strained their ears, then caught the echo of a loud, familiar squawk, then the sound of a growl. “We might already be too late,” he hissed, flexing his hand to pick his sword out of the Armiger.

Ignis and Noctis followed suit, stealthing forward carefully. The advisor saw it first, the MT closing in on the injured chocobo. With a flick of the wrists, one of his daggers pierced through the thing’s back and it fell to the ground.

Meanwhile, Noctis warped forward, slicing through the voretooths/teeth easily. It barely took a minute to dispatch the last of them. “Ugh, a waste of time, but at least there’s a pretty penny in it for us,” he said bending down to scoop up a tooth that had broken off in the fray. Probably from Gladio’s massive fucking sword.

Then he turned to the chocobo who looked surprisingly okay for having two different sets of enemies after it. It was pawing at the ground near the MT, pecking at its helmet like it wanted it off.

“Whoa, girl, there’s no food there. Here, lemme check that gash out,” he murmured, pulling a potion from their stash and dribbling it over one of its wounds. It seemed to have healed very well considering the bird had been away from human contact for so long, but some of its more recent wounds were pretty nasty. 

Once all of its wounds had closed, the bird gave him a quizzical look, before again pecking at the MT’s helmet, then grabbing it by the fabric on its back and starting to drag it towards Noctis.

“What are you- no, it’s- is it alive? Are… are you scared of it? No, that’s stupid. Come on, it disappears, don’t worry. It won’t hurt you.” He wrapped his hand around the chocobo’s beak, guiding it to follow him, but it broke away with a startlingly loud squawk and returned to pecking at the MT’s helmet.

“You… you want that off?” Noctis said, stepping carefully towards the trooper.

“Look at that, you’re taking orders from a bird. I’ll tell Iggy next time he wants you to listen to him to put on a bird mask.”

The prince sighed. “Har-dee-har you’re hilarious, Gladio.” He flipped the Trooper over and started to undo the clamps around the side of the thing’s armor. “I just want to get this damn bird-” he stopped short as the helmet came off, revealing a pale human with mussy blond hair. “Wh… what the fuck?”

The bird squawked and flapped its wings, darting to cover the Trooper.

“Well damn, didn’t know  _ that _ was in there,” Gladio muttered.

“Enough talk, gentlemen, it seems there’s a person in need of our assistance. Let us head off. A haven sits just past the Regalia.”

* * *

Noctis crossed his arms over his chest. “You saw what the haven did to that guy, Gladio. Admit it, we gotta go to a caravan, at least.”

The shield scoffed. “I saw, I just wonder if I care. Sure, it  _ looks _ human, but havens are designed to only keep away  _ daemons _ , Noct. If he couldn’t go near, that means he is one. I don’t wanna share a sleeping space with something like that, sorry.”

“I say we rent the nearby caravan. We can take shifts watching over our guest, and the others can sleep at the haven. It’s only a 10-minute drive between them.”

Noctis and Gladio glared at each other silently for a long minute.

“I choose to take that as a “yes”. Noctis, would you like to take first watch?”

* * *

He stared boredly at his phone as the night wore on. The Chocobo had refused to leave the Trooper’s side, so the entire caravan was filled with a musty barn smell, like the entirety of Wiz’ Chocobo Post. He supposed it could be worse, it could smell like Gladio after a sparring session.

The trooper stirred, which drew the attention of both Noctis and the chocobo. 

Its eyes opened, and it glanced around slowly before catching the chocobo’s gaze. A strange grunting crackle escaped the thing’s lips, like a person who had never spoken before, and it lunged into a sitting position to throw its arms around the chocobo’s torso.

He was hit with a sudden realization, that the reason the chocobo’s earlier wound had healed so well was probably because of the trooper. If they were this close-

“Uh, hey,” Noctis interrupted, carefully.

The trooper jumped at the noise, splaying its hands out as if to protect the chocobo from Noctis. Before the prince could assure the blond that he meant no harm, the chocobo rested its head on the trooper’s shoulder. It glanced from the chocobo, to him, then back at the chocobo before lowering its arms.

“Hey, good to see you up. How are you feeling?”

The trooper just stared blankly at him.

“Um, I think the elixir did its job, so you should be feeling fine. Um, so you’re a daemon or something?”

Just another blank stare.

Noctis’ face fell. “You can’t understand me, can you?” He muttered. Great.

This was going to take a while...

**Author's Note:**

> it's kinda just slopped together while I was sick and tired, but god damn did I want to get it done. I will not be defeated by a fanfic!


End file.
